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A2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W LORD Cotton Opener.

Patemee June?, lees.

(No Model.)

, 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. LORD'. Cotton Opener.

Patented June 7,1881.

l m l l l H l .u l l l l l H l u l (No Model.)

H l n H l H H l l .0 l.

mzmesses.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER LORD, OF TODMORDEN, COUNTY OF YORK, ENGLAND.

eoTTQp-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,461, dated June '7,1881.

Application filed December 13, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom tt may concern Be it known that l, WALTER LORD, a sul jectof Great Britain, residing at Todmorden, in the county of York, England,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ootton-Openers; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertainsto make 1o and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or ligures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlhis invention relates to eXha ust-openers for i5 cotton; and itconsists in the construction and 4combination of parts, hereinafterparticularly set forth and claimed.

Heretofore in the operation of cotton-openers of this class, whenknocking off,7 as it is zo termed, takes place by the shifting of theknocking-ott` lever by the operator the iiow otl cotton is arrested,while the draft through the feed-tube continues, the result being thatcotton accumulates in the latter and is formed in- 2 5 to thick placeswhich produce an uneven lap,

and the density and form of the sheet delivered to the beater variesconstantly.

rIhe purpose of my present improvement is to avoid this objectionablefeature by intermitting the suction through the feed-tube simultaneouslywith the cessation ofthe dow ofcot ton in knocking1 ot'f, and viceversa; anditconsists in providing the said feed-tube, at ornear itsjunction with the beater, with a Valve or its equivalent, operating withsuch tube, and with an opening in the same to permitof entrance ofexternal air to the opener when knocking oft' (by which is understoodthe actot' suspending the feeding devices and calender-rolls of 4o themachine) takes place. to interrupt the low of cotton through thefeed-tube, or to close such opening and restore the draft to theinterior of the tube, when the machine resumes its functions, the valvesbeing' connected with the knocking-oft' lever by suitable interveningmechanism, in order that the motion of thelever may be automaticallytransmitted to such valves to operate them as occasion requires.

The drawings accompanying this specilica- 5o tion represent, in Figure1, a sectional elevation of a cotton-opening machine embracing myimprovement; Fig. 2, a-horizontal section; Fig. 3, a vertical sectionofthe draft-tube and valves, the machine heilig a combined opener andlapper, and Fig. 4 a longitudinal view of 55 the lapper employed with myinvention.

In these drawings, A represents the portion of a. combined cottonopening and lapping machine known as the conical beater,7 andA thelapping portion of the machine, the first 6o consisting of a horizonialshaft provided with a series of radial arms gradually diminishing inlength from front to rear of the shaft, and surrounded by a conical gridor barred casing, and the whole being contained within a suitablestructure or box, into the bottom of which impurities from the cottonare deposited, while the draft or feed tube which supplies the conicalbeater, or its equivalent, is shown at B as communicating at its lowerend with the feed 7o end B ofthe beater, and the knocking-efflever ofthemachine at C.

The delivery end of the conical beater is pro vided with a rotary fan,D, to induce a current of air through it and the draft-tube, such fan,with the fan employed to exhaust the air from the dust cages ofthemachine, servingto draw the cotton through the latter.

l provide, as shown in the presentinstance, in the lower end of thefeedtube, which at this 8c point is rectangular in cross-section, twooppositely-disposed apertures, b c, whieh,when open, permit of freeentrance of air to the interior of the opener.

d e in the accompanying drawings repre 85 sent twin valves or gatesformed of thin plates of metal, which together constitute an areagreater than that of the portion of the tube inclosing them, each valvebeing secured at its outer edge to a horizontal shaft,fg, which is 9omounted in bearings in the walls of the tube, immediately below theopenino'.

The apertures b c are each of somewhat less area than one of the valves,and are so arranged that when such valves are turned downward (orupward, if so arranged) they (the apertures) shall be closed by thevalves and restore the draft or suction to the interior of thedraft-tube, while if the valves are raised the apertures are opened andexternal air per- Ico mitted to enter the apertures b c, the resultbeing that the draft or suction through the tube is broken, and the flowot' cotton thereby interrupted.

The valves may be operated by hand, but I prefer to operate themautomatically by the movement ofthe knocking-oli' lever; and to e'ectthis I proceed as follows: To the side of the external rear end of themachine, and below the handle of the lever, I pivot a bellcrank lever,h, as shown at t', the end of the upper and horizontal arm, j, of thislever being connected with the handle ot' the lever C by a rod or link,7a, while the end of its lower and vertical arm, Z, is connected, by along horizontal rod, l, with the corresponding1 arm m of a secondbell-crank lever, n, pvoted to the side of the extreme opposite or frontend ofthe machine, as shown at o, the end of the upper arm, p, ot' thislever beine` in turn connected, by a vertical rod, q, with the inner andfree end of a sectoral plate, r, arranged outside of the feed-tube, andafiixed at its opposite end to the end of the shaft g in such mannerthat vibratory motions of the crank-arm p shall ei'ect the raisingr andlowering of the said shaft, and of the valves e d. A sectoral toothedrack, s, is cut upon the periphery of the plate r, and meshes with asecond rack, t, cut upon the periphery of a second sectoral plate, u,which is aiiixed at its outer end to the extremity of the oppositeshaft,f, the whole being so arranged that both the valves d and c areraised and lowered at the same time. It will thus be seen that the actof lowering the lever C in the act of knocking oi' operates, through theagency ot' the bell-crank levers h and n,

and rods 7c and l', and q, to raise thc valves d e, and open theapertures b c, and admit external air to the opener, with the effect ofintercepting the tiow of cotton through the tube.

A raising of the knocking-off lever has the effect of lowering thevalves d e and closing the apertures b c and restoring the draft to thetube B.

Though I have described my improvement as applied to a combined openerand lapper, it is of course equally applicable to an opener without thelapper.

I do not restrict myself lo the precise arrangement ot' the valves andopenings as herein described, nor to the details of mechanism connectingthem with the knocking-off lever, as it is evident these may be variedto a considerable extent without departing from the essential featureof' my invention.

Having' thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a cottolropeuer, the combination of the dral't or feed tube with theknocking-off lever, and mechanism, substantially as described, whichoperates automatically to interrupt or restore the draft through saidtube, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereofI aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\VAL'I`ER LORD.

Witnesses H. E. LODGE, F. G. SIMPSON.

